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Sometimes fate delivers the answer you’ve been chasing right to your doorstep. That’s exactly what happened to Toronto Tempo general manager Monica Wright when Sandy Brondello suddenly became available. “I had commenced my coaching search in mid-July and cast a really wide net,” Wright shared at Brondello’s introductory press conference. She emphasized the need for a coach with WNBA experience who could attract top free agents to build the new franchise. “As I went through that search, I really got to a final list, and then something happened in New York… We were able to have a crack at one of the best coaches in WNBA history, and I took a swing. Definitely, I knew there would be other teams. Obviously, you would be unwise not to try and land her,” Wright explained. Given her record, Brondello had multiple offers across the WNBA. According to reports, both the Dallas Wings and the Seattle Storm pursued Brondello, but she chose Tempo. Front Office Sports’ Annie Costabile reports Brondello landed a multi-year deal worth seven figures per year with the Tempo. The same report highlights that Brondello had an even more lucrative offer from another team, but she took a pay cut. Yes, Monica Wright played a role in that decision. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad “I think there is a lot of alignment. In the end, it was more about partnership. Monica was my first point of contact there, and I knew Monica, not really well, but we have a mutual best friend. But that connection certainly helped. But I knew her, just the kind of person that she is, and how she goes about her day-to-day. That was important for me, and I thought there was a lot of alignment there. Feeling comfortable in this next opportunity that I was going to take,” Brondello said. Monica Wright would have crossed paths with Sandy Brondello multiple times in her career. Wright, who played college basketball for Virginia, was selected by the Lynx with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. There she played important roles from the bench in their title-winning teams the but injuries forced Wright to retire after the 2016 season. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Meanwhile, Brondello was breaking into the coaching scene as an assistant at the Los Angeles Sparks. She came to LA after having spent six seasons with the San Antonio Silver Stars, including one as a head coach. Another place where they might have that mutual connection is from Brondello’s team before the Liberty, the Phoenix Mercury. Wright was the assistant General Manager there for the past two seasons. Being in the same ecosystem and a good reference helped Wright land Brondello despite offering less money than Wings or Storm. As many suspected, Brondello also wanted to build a team from scratch. “To build a team from the ground up, that really excited me,” She mentioned. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports The former Liberty HC has long been accused in the fan circles of being dependent on stars or ready-made teams for results. She might want to break that misconception. With a fresh franchise, the two-time title coach gets to set the culture day one, instead of ripping out someone else’s. And Brondello, being a ‘player-coach,’ makes her the perfect candidate. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Why Sandy Brondello’s backstory is a game-changing edge Sandy Brondello started her basketball journey in the small town down under of Mackay, Queensland. “My father was a sugar cane farmer, and he built that backboard and pinned it on an old water tank in the backyard,” Brondello said in a 2017 Melbourne Herald Sun article. “It was a bit uneven, but it allowed me to shoot.” Before the WNBA existed, she starred in the WNBL and in European leagues. During Brondello’s 10 seasons there, she made a name for herself and was named Most Valuable Player in 1995 while playing for the Brisbane Blazers. The Toronto HC is used to starting from zero as she joined the Detroit Shock in 1998. She immediately became an all-star in 1999. Brondello played for five seasons while being one of the best shooters from downtown (career three-point percentage: 41%) and retired in 2003 after a stint at the Seattle Storm. Cut to today, she is one of the best coaches in the league after starting as an assistant in 2005. This combination makes her better connect with the players. “I’ve had so many different experiences with some of the best players in the world, and I’m someone who wants to keep learning, and I’ve learned a lot from those players. But being a former player, I think that’s helped me. I’m a player’s coach, I suppose,” She said. “I understand what these players are going through, so that gives me some insight, but I also understand how to get the most out of them.” Breanna Stewart and Natasha Cloud very publicly back Brondello. “Sandy is one of the winningest coaches in this f***ing league,” Cloud once said, hyping her the-then coach. “She just won a championship last year. I think there should be a lot more respect hung on Sandy’s head.” So she could bring a lot of those champions from Liberty during the free agency. She has coached the best and gone up against the best, too. That ability to connect with players is different for coaches like Brondello. Becky Hammon is another such coach with such an archetype, along with Stephanie White. If you notice, there are three of the most successful coaches in league history. Hammon has won three titles in the last four years. White almost took an injury-ridden Indiana Fever to the finals in her first season. For Brondello, her Australian background and her position as the coach of the Australian national team could help her adapt to the international franchise.
